ANAHEIM – Brendan Harris already has proved to be a handy guy for the Angels to have around.

Injuries to the left side of the infield, shortstop Erick Aybar and third baseman Alberto Callaspo, have tested the Angels’ depth, and Harris, 32, has been starting in Aybar’s spot since the latter suffered a heel injury Tuesday night.

“Anywhere in the infield is my comfort level,” said Harris, who has started 188 major league games at short, 96 at second base, 74 at third and one at first.

He’s also more comfortable back in the big leagues.

Once a middle-infield starter for Tampa Bay and Minnesota, Harris has spent the past 21/2seasons playing in Triple-A, at Rochester, Norfolk and Colorado Springs.

He won his Angels job as a spring training invitee, in essence replacing longtime Angels utility man Maicer Izturis, now with Toronto. They were Expos teammates in 2004, their first big league season, and Montreal’s last.

“I thought I had a good shot to make the club,” Harris said. “I wanted to come in and contribute, and things fell into place.”

He got his first real major league chance with longtime Angels coach Joe Maddon managing the Rays, but was traded to Minnesota after one season in the Matt Garza-Delmon Young deal, so he missed out on the Rays’ 2008 World Series appearance.

Harris got into the AL playoffs in 2009 with the Twins. Returning to a team with a chance to win and make the playoffs was part of his attraction to the Angels, who have gotten off to a slow start in the first two weeks.

“It’s still new for me here,” he said. “Trying to compare it to other teams I’ve been on is tough right now.

“I think we’re just one 6- or 7-run inning from breaking out of this. We need to play as a team, play a whole game. There’s a little bit of a sense of urgency because of all the expectations, but we’ve just got to keep grinding.”

Here are some tidbits from the Harris file:

•When Harris was the starting shortstop for Tampa Bay in 2007 (“My first opening day roster,” he recalled), Maddon campaigned for him for All-Star Game consideration. “I just want people to take a look at him,” Maddon said.

•On Oct. 3, 2004, Harris was the final base runner in Montreal Expos history, drawing a walk in the ninth inning at Shea Stadium in an 8-1 loss to the Mets.

•In 2002, when Harris was tearing up Class-A and Double-A as a Chicago Cubs prospect, Baseball Prospectus compared him favorably to current teammate Albert Pujols. Harris had 15 homers, 65 RBI, 17 steals with a slash line of .328/.385/.533; in his lone minor league season, 2000, Pujols had 19 homers, 96 RBI and a slash line of .314/.378/.543.